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Quick Maui Advice

I've searched the boards and realize it's personal, but if we have 9 days to spend in Maui, do we stay in 2 diff areas? We'll be doing a day trip over to Pearl Harbor somewehre in the middle. Was going to stay in Kihei the whole time but wondering if it's easier to split with 4-5 days in 2 areas? We like to eat, explore, hike and beach, not into disco/gamble/shopping/crowds. We have never been to Hawaii before. Thanks!!

No; it's not that big a place, and you can get anywhere from Kihei. Don't bother uprooting yourself (and wasting time packing and unpacking, and occupying time between check out and check in).
There are no discos or gambling dens on Maui, and shopping and crowds are few and far between.

We have enjoyed many trips splitting our time on Maui whether it be Kihei/Hana or Kaanapali/Wailea. Packing and unpacking and occupying time has never been an issue for us. We enjoy the more leisure pace of spending time exploring each section of the island rather then doing the full on runaround.

Are you flying direct in and out of Maui? Otherwise, I would try to do Pearl Harbor on the way to maui, as it may be a more efficient use of your precious time.

My son and his wife and ultimately 3 grandchildren lived in Kihei, so we visited them once or twice a year for about 8 years. I agree with sylvia3 about getting anywhere on the island from there with relative ease. Kihei is a down to earth town with real working people and all the stuff that folks need like grocery stores, etc, although the big malls and places like Costco are about 20 minutes across the island in Kahului. From Kaanapali it's more like 45 minutes.

I urge you to consider more than 1 day on Oahu. There is so much to see there beyond Pearl Harbor. We took a 2 day side trip there on one occasion, landing in Honolulu directly from LA as suggested by Lookin_Glass, and then on to Kihei. That was more than 10 years ago, and I still rue to this day that we didn't make it a 3 day trip.

Last year we visited relatives in Georgia and Tennessee and stayed in 4 different hotels in 7 days. Check-in/out and pack/unpack didn't take much time, at least not the way we (sloppily) do it. People differ.

Thanks! I'll check into condo avail dates but most likely the 2 of us will stay put. We dont' mind driving and do want to relax. reahu- I have considered arriving there than onto Maui but wasn't convinced we'd enjoy it. I'll do a bit more research-thanks for the suggestion!

I have done split stays on Maui twice: first time we stayed in Kihei and then Kapalua, and the next time in Lahaina and then Wailea. Each trip was about a week total. I enjoy the split stays because it lets us experience different parts of the island. I plan my itinerary well so moving from one location to another doesn't really seem like a chore but more as "part of the plan". For example, we plan to see sites or eat in Kahului when moving from south to west Maui and vice versa. One year we went to the Maui culinary school for a fine dining 3 course lunch prepared by students. Another year we visited Sam sato's for their famous noodles and went to view the I'ao Needle. These activities were all on the way. So, I guess I am a big fan of the split stay provided its planned out well but that doesn't mean I would do it every trip. If you really just want to relax and stay put, I think west Maui is perfect. I think I have a trip report from our Maui trip in 2009 which shows how we did out split stay. If I can find it, I will link it, or you can try a search.

Btw, I am writing from oahu right now at the tail end of a 10 day trip. We love oahu, and I don't know why it gets a bad rap. I guess yes, it's the only island that has crowds, and bad traffic, but because there are more people on this island I think it provides many activities, and a plethora of diverse cuisines and restaurants. We've driven all over and eaten at some great places including the most amazing Thai food on the north shore (opal Thai). We also did a split stay here, waikiki and the north shore (I am reporting from turtle bay resort right now). It's like 2 different worlds, and the north shore scenery is amazing. Very sad to go home to cold NYC tomorrow.

Enjoy your trip! I agree if you do oahu, to do it at the beginning or tail end of your trip just so it's easier when flying in/out of hawaii.

Who is coming? (Ages, interests?) When? Where will you fly from? What's the budget for lodging? Do you want hotel or condo?

Nine nights is enough to stay on two islands -- barely. You could fly in or out of Honolulu and stay two nights in a hotel to see Pearl, Punchbowl, Iolani Palace, Waikiki, etc. Then you could fly to Maui and stay in a condo for a week. (Better rates for a full week on both condo and car.) Then fly home from Maui or hop back to HNL and go from there without leaving airport security.

North and Central Kihei are not as pretty as South Kihei (across from the three Kamaole Beach Parks). Kihei and Wailea are more conveniently located for sightseeing Haleakala and Upcountry, Iao Valley, Road to Hana, and to the airport.